@KubeKing @Another Bad Pun It is in fact a tremendous coincidence that I became aware of yesterday around the time I was preparing to post this map here. I've since contacted the author and we've taken to swapping assets, such as his replica gas stations, elevator scaffolds and roofing textures, as well as my and fancy990's reskined canyon and quarry props as well as my fixed blends and textures. I too did a double take when I first saw it, and upon looking through it was amazed at just how many coincidences there were, from the rotating clouds to the gravelpit inspired quarry areas. It really is unfathomable to me that such a thing occurred, on the exact same day no less, but I can confirm that both were developed completely independently and without knowledge of each other.
Also on the topic of advanced lighting compile, I'm holding that off until I can possibly get a better optimized map that will also compile in a more timely manner. I'll freely admit to having nicked plenty of brushwork designs and other details from the maps I took a lot of design inspiration from, especially launch maps like 2fort, and because this map spanned such a large period of time the quality and especially cleanliness of brushwork varies greatly. Much of the interior is extensively optimized however much of the exterior isn't, or is done so fairly poorly as a result of the map's openness. I don't fully expect to ever really get this map to a state in which it runs exceptionally well nor can I foresee myself going back and redoing all the brushwork that is already in, as by that point it would be far more time efficient to just start again from scratch, which I have by no means ruled out doing at some point in the future, as the original Badlands props were uploaded almost an entire year after I initially started work on the map and while I was more or less on hiatus from the game. Large sections of the map were already completed by the time they were posted, which resulted in me making the decision to make them work around the map rather than the map working around them. In the event I ever decide to attempt to fully replicate the original, including the original interior layout, it will be done around the props presented and not vice versa. I do have something I hope to work on for my next project however, which means that a proper, true remake could be a long way off.
Now with regards to
@Skittelz Pie and the issues he found, I will be adding proper tunnel clipping prior to the release of the next version, rc2. However, on the topic of prop clipping, namely the rail side quarry and the quarry stairs, due to my lack of experience with actual modeling beyond what I did for this project, which was limited to compiling existing models with a differently colored variant of the same texture, I am not personally capable, at least at the time being, of modifying the collision of the props in question to be more accurate. I am considering disabling the collision on the stairs prop and instead clipping it with block bullets, which is what PJX did and in fact sent me as part of the assets we shared, though that will have to wait for the next version. A train gate is something I was considering, though turned out to be a bigger problem in practice due to the proximity of the tracks to each other. If not a gate there will be something in the next version that will resolve the issue of that particular clip area not being clear enough. As far as the blast doors go, they were largely a result of the fact that the more shed or barn appearing doors in the original screenshots don't themselves exist in the game, and their closes approximation, which is used on this map around the mid section, is unworkable as a functioning door. If it proves to be a problem in play, they will likely be replaced, though what with I am not currently sure. And finally, with regards to the kill triggers, it is a result of me wanting to keep the roofless areas of the connecting buildings open so that soldiers, demos as well as scouts and pyros (using the right items) can take a shortcut and get through. However I did not want to present an opportunity for those classes or any other classes to be able to take up that area as a vantage point, which is why it was not covered. The tops of the walls beside it have push triggers on them as well to prevent classes from being able to stay where they are not supposed to. The kill triggers are really just a result of not wanting classes to get stuck inside the shed, not being able to stand on top of it, and offering new routes while simultaneously keeping with the original screenshots' designs.
Finally to address
@MegapiemanPHD and his findings, the plank clipping is mostly a result of me finding them generally to be unyielding and not ideal for curved upward paths, however they were decided on as a more minimalist and believable way of doing it, as opposed to natural stairs or the like. I'm actually unsure of what else could be put there, or of a better way in which to go about adding them, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Both instances of seams on both sides of the map have been resolved for the next version, the oddly lit grass props have been removed, and the oddly shiny blast door exterior has been fixed by way of affixing a hanging light to the overhang above it, as per the original screenshot. The blast doors, for some reason, have that shiny texture whenever they are in low light. I'll be looking into trying to improve the intel tables with smoothing groups, and see what I possibly can do about the train car shadows and odd cubemaps, though I am unsure of the causes of either of these so no guarantees can be made.